2009 - BeiDou

In April 2009, China launched BeiDou-2, the second GEO satellite of its planned Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS). The system will consist of ## MEO satellites for global coverage and ## GEO satellites which will focus on regional coverage over China. China plans to achieve a fully operational constellation between 2015 and 2020.

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China’s expansion of its positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) constellation, BeiDou, continued during 2016. The country’s share of the world’s orbiting operational PNT satellites increased to ##%, ## more than its share in 2015. China’s share of PNT satellites exceeded...

In 2014, China had paused in its BeiDou PNT satellite launch activities with its BeiDou satellites making up ##% of the global PNT satellite fleets. There were ## BeiDou satellites orbiting the Earth in medium or inclined geosynchronous Earth orbits providing regional PNT service to China during...

China was uncharacteristically inactive in terms of PNT satellite launches during 2013 and 2014. A new navigation test satellite the Chinese were expected to launch for phase 3 of the BeiDou2 constellation in 2014 was delayed to 2015. ## BeiDou2 satellites are already in medium Earth orbit, ## are...

In 2011, China became the third nation to declare a PNT system operational, with the announcement that its BeiDou system was able to provide location data and SMS messaging for users within China. In late 2012, The China Satellite Navigation Office published the complete interface control document...

Since 2000, China has been building its own PNT system, known as BeiDou. In December 2011, the Chinese government announced that its initial services—location data and SMS messaging—commenced for users within China. The two-way nature of this system allows the Chinese government to track the...